Talent and theatre at Italian-style food festival in Dublin

Party in the Italian style

Irish chef Mark Moriarty headed to Melbourne, Australia, last January to further his culinary education when his role as San Pellegrino young chef of the year came to an end. But he's back in Dublin next month for a collaboration with Francesco Mazzei, chef patron at Sartoria in London.

The Peroni beer company is flying both chefs to Dublin to cook at La Sagra, a local food festival in the Italian style, which takes place in Temple Bar on Thursday and Friday, October 19th and 20th.

The House of Peroni event hosts Irish producers of Italian-inspired produce, from mozzarella to salami, to share samples of their food, and sell it too, from stalls on Meeting House Square, in a festival atmosphere. The sagra will be open from 6pm to 10pm on Thursday and noon-10pm on Friday. Admission is free.

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Later, Moriarty and Mazzei will cook a menu of Italian dishes at a covered, pop-up restaurant at the Meeting House Square stage on the Friday evening (two sittings, 5.30pm and 8pm). Tickets are €60 and can be booked at thehouseofperoni.com.

“I love the Italian passion for produce, and I am very excited to cook alongside Francesco in Dublin. Expect classic, regional Italian dishes, cooked with the best Irish ingredients, presented with a few twists and a little bit of theatre,” Moriarty said.

Platter fun approach

Publisher Ryland Peters & Small produces some of the most beautiful books for cooks, and a new collection of party platter ideas from Kathy Kordalis will be as invaluable for its visual inspiration as it is for its recipes.

Kordalis, originally from Sydney, travelled to London to study at Leith's School of Food and Wine and worked in management at the Divertimenti Cookery School in Chelsea before becoming a food writer and stylist.

Party Food to Share (RP&S, £16.99) has suggestions for breakfast and brunch parties, lunch, dinner, and special occasion feasts, all focusing on sharing plates, platters, and tables artfully laden with an abundance of things that look (almost) too beautiful to eat.

Spuds explained

Friday, October 6th is National Potato Day, and the theme this year is "Potatoes: What's under the skin". Dietician Aoife Hearne is the face and voice of a campaign to highlight the positive nutritional benefits of Ireland's favourite vegetable. You can read and watch what she has to say at potato.ie, and tap into a library of extremely varied recipes too.

Mushroom hunts

Mycologist, or fungi expert, Bill O'Dea, of Mushroomstuff.com, will be joined by two of the UK's leading foragers for his guided mushroom hunts at Killruddery House and Gardens in Bray, Co Wicklow, on October 1st and 8th. Biologist Lisa Cutliffe joins the hunt on October 1st and wild food tutor Craig Worrall is the special guest the following Sunday. The mushroom hunts cost €70 and run from 9.30am to 4pm. Up to 50 types of mushrooms can be picked and identified and the event includes lunch. On October 8th, the foraged mushrooms will be cooked by chef and foraging expert Pat McLarnon